The typically traditional slow month of January for movie releases is given a cinematic boost of adrenaline in The Rip, marking Joe Carnahan’s return to the familiar gritty cop thriller genre. He even granted a blockbuster-sized $100 million budget and boasts a star-studded pair, played by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Not to mention it’s an R-rated movie that is neither a sequel, prequel, or a reboot/remake/re-imagining of any kind – a considerably risky gamble in the age of IP-obsessed Hollywood. Most traditional studios, such as Warner Bros. and Universal, might think twice about greenlighting such an expensive movie. Which is why it’s nice to see big-budget movies like this still get made, thanks to the deep-pocketed Netflix, as usual.
Carnahan grabs my attention right from the start, with an intriguing opening scene where Captain Jackie Velez (Lina Esco) from Miami-Dade narcotics division is hunted and gunned down by the masked aggressors on a rainy night in Florida. And right before Jackie dies, she manages to text someone and get rid of her burner phone in the water. This triggers a couple of questions: Why was Jackie killed? And more importantly, who are those aggressors?
The story then shifted its focus to introducing a team of Miami cops from Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT) – Lt. Dane Dumars (Matt Damon), Detective Sergeant JD Byrne (Ben Affleck), Detective Mike Ro (Steven Yeun), Detective Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), and Detective Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandino Moreno) – as they receive an anonymous tip regarding a cartel’s stash house. The house in question looks like an ordinary suburban home, but thanks to the money-sniffing dog, they find an unbelievably large stash in the attic. A stash estimated at over $20 million, all wrapped up in plastic and stored in the buckets hidden behind the wall. The TNT should have called it in, and yet, Dane chooses not to.
Instead, he wants his team to count the money, making sure of the exact amount. The first half sees Carnahan, who also wrote the screenplay, predominantly set up his movie like a chamber mystery-drama within the confines of the stash house. When they enter the house earlier, there’s a sole occupant named Desi (Sasha Calle), claiming it was her late grandmother who owns the residence. Whether she’s telling the truth or she has something to do with the large stash of money is part of the mystery that Carnahan wants us to stay invested in as the story progresses. He also throws in plenty of red herrings, where some of the TNT members look suspicious.
Like, for instance, how is it that team leader Dane insists on keeping the whole situation in a low profile? Is he hiding something, or could he be planning to steal the money when the time is right? His second-in-command and closest friend, JD, senses something is not right, leading the two in a series of heated verbal exchanges. Then, there’s Mike, who looks like he’s up to something. Carnahan does a good job filling in his story with an escalating sense of distrust and paranoia, relying on the tension coming from the dynamic of these TNT members as they are not going anywhere until the money is thoroughly counted right down to the dollar.
Those who expect Carnahan to go all guns blazing have to wait until around the second half of the movie. Once the eventual gunfight arrives, he eschews the glossy Hollywood style in favor of a mean, you-are-there visual approach rooted in grounded realism. It’s chaotic and messy with the visceral mayhem of muzzle flashes, the deafening sound of the bullets, and foot chases through the night around the suspiciously quiet neighborhood. The Rip equally benefits from the cast, notably the world-weary turns from Damon and Affleck. The former’s methodical style of keeping everything under control, despite his questionable authority, contrasts well with the latter’s rather quick-tempered persona.
Yeun, along with other supporting turns including Kyle Chandler as DEA agent Matty Nix and Scott Adkins in a rare, non-fighting role as JD’s estranged FBI agent-brother Del Byrne, all deliver competent performances. Save for Calle, it’s a shame that the otherwise highly regarded actresses Teyana Taylor and Catalina Sandino Moreno are undermined as two detectives from TNT, where they are mostly seen spending time counting money.Carnahan finally concludes The Rip with a thrilling payoff, notably the nighttime car chase-and-exchanging gunfire sequence. But I’m not sure why he feels the need to lengthen the coda to the point it overstays its welcome with the way he wraps up the finale. Despite its shortcomings, The Rip proves that Carnahan still has what it takes to make a compelling piece of entertainment.
